Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt is getting ready to put on the bear costume.

In Peter Jackson’s movie “The Hobbit”, Persbrandt plays Beorn, a character that has the ability to transform himself into a bear. Tolkien (the author of “The Hobbit”), Persbrandt has said in earlier interviews, was a childhood hero.

“I read all (Tolkien) books. I went to second-hand bookshops searching for the first ‘Bilbo’ books. I was a fantasy geek. Jackson’s Tolkien-movies are absolutely magnificent. He’s the man. The whole project will be so exciting.” Persbrandt adds that he as Beorn has some nice scenes with British star actor Ian McKellen that he’s looking forward too.

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“I’m on my way soon for some days of shooting with Peter Jackson, and there will be several stretches next year as well as 2013.”

Persbrandt is also preparing to work with Lasse Hallström in “Hypnotisören” (“The Hypnotist”), an adaptation of the best selling crime novel by Lars Kepler. “Hypnotisören” is the first in a series of novels revolving around detective Joona Linna, which rank just below Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy on the list of Sweden’s most successful crime novels worldwide.

“I view it as all noir,” says Persbrandt about the Hallström movie. “Something black, a witch’s brew of events. A bit like David Fincher’s ‘Seven’.” Persbrandt is not chasing blockbusters he says. “I like acting and want to return to the stage, but also direct. That’s what I will do after I turn fifty.”